When you see ‘Award-Winning’ in front of a comedy act, you tend to sit up and expect something pretty good. However it seems Nik Coppin hasn’t heard of the term ‘false advertising’ as unfortunately this sketch left something to be desired.
The gig is an intimate affair upstairs in The Quadrant, and here, for just over an hour, Coppin informs you of the various awards he has received; the highlights of these being for a football match and a dancing competition. You can’t help but find yourself wishing Coppin would come out with something really clever, because he is one of the most genuine people you’ll meet. The kind of guy who invites the audience down to the bar afterwards for a drink. Despite this, Coppin just doesn’t produce the goods. The act consists of a verging on a self-indulgent explosion of unnecessary information regarding past shows and awards. The audience is fairly sparse, and Coppin’s genuine bubbly attitude does lend itself to an attempt to make a connection with the audience. However, there are various points throughout the night where he only just dodges rather inappropriate and awkward jokes, making the audience feel likewise!
Throughout the show Coppin finds himself going off track, bombarding the audience with useless information that just weighs down the gags and more often than not, makes the punch lines predictable. That said, the more mature members of the audience do seem to find him amusing at times, but for others it is undeniable that the material isn’t quick or clever enough to be truly entertaining.
All in all, you find yourself being talked at, like a drunken friend at a bar who insists on going over every minute detail of a particular event. There are times when I found myself giggling along, but it wasn’t maintained and it wasn’t frequent enough. Definitely a lovely guy to sit and have a drink with but unfortunately not a headline comedy act – yet.